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2nd FEATIrrific Aerofest: A Simply Breathtaking Experience!
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It was a busy and tiring day but a happy and unforgettable one, indeed, last February 28. FEATI University, where I am a fourth year Aeronautical Engineering student, spearheaded the second FEATIrrific Aero Fest. And true enough, it’s not only love, but an event like this that is sweeter, “…the second time around!” |
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| I am not used to getting-up early but on the morning of Feb. 28, I had woken up even before our alarm clock ticked! I was even one of the first to come to FEATI! There was excitement in the air and it was contagious! Getting off the bus after an hour-and-a-half ride from FEATI to Woodland Air Park in Sitio Talimundok, Magalang, Pampanga, |
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I never thought that one of the most memorable days in my life – ever, was at hand. There were three hangars, fronting a landing strip covered by grass (maybe that’s why it is called grassroots aviation, to distinguish it from commercial ones with their kilometer-length asphalted runways and gargantuan control towers). One of the hangars would soon be filled by us and a big crowd of high schoolers while the other two housed scores of ultra-light and light planes. I wondered to myself, would these wooden, metal, fabric and plastic contraptions really fly? And as if in answer to my rhetoric, an ultra-light plane zoomed by 50 ft. above me. And please, don’t bother arguing with me if that was really fifty feet. The thing is, yeah; although ultra-lights appear to be enlarged dragonflies a thousand times their size, those “primitive” looking aircraft can really bring you high above the ground! And, for an Aero student like me who spent his childhood in a remote barrio seeing airplanes flying by once a week at a height that made them look like the size of a pin, being literally arms length from an aircraft, however small or light, and hearing and seeing them taking off and flying around is a sight to behold! |
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Oh, and please don’t tell me that my reaction is exaggerated and is biased simply because I love aviation. That can’t be because I am sharing the moment with close to fifty of my schoolmates and an even larger crowd of excited high-schoolers. Everyone’s response is uniform – mouths in the form of an O, vibrating with excitement and enthusiasm! |
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It could have been enough, but a number of us expected much more...
I don’t know what came first: Seeing Mr. Fritz Segovia’s metallic silver Agusta Westland AW109 Helicopter or hearing the sound of its main rotor, powered by two Pratt and Whitney 206C Turboshaft engines. And I don’t know if it was the sound or the sight of that helicopter, as it made its way above the cornfields and landed very softly a couple of meters from the hangar, or the accompanying wind from the rotors, that silenced us. Mr. Fritz Segovia (FEATI Vice-Chairman of the Board and CEO) was at the controls and his passengers included Engr. Chuck Castro (FEATI 1966 Aero Eng’g Graduate and first ever DOST Balik Scientist in the field of Aeronautics), Engr. Gabriel P. Intengan (FEATI EVP and COO) and Engr. Joel C. Herrera (Associate Dean and Mechanical Engineering Chairman). In the co-pilot’s seat was Mr. Rod Feliciano, a native of Magalang, and a prominent businessman.
After feasting our eyes and ears on all sorts of flying things, it was time to sit down and participate in the program that was prepared by the event organizers, the FEATI Marketing & Events Group. And there, people learned four things. First, FEATI Prexy, Dr.-Ing. Adolfo Jesus R. Gopez hails from Pampanga. Second, aviation is of great interest to him. Third, a career in aviation is one that is exciting and pays well, very well, although you have to have focus, be determined and have the knack for it. Fourth, FEATI will mold you into a professional worthy of a career in aviation and possibly, “all these, and heaven too”, provided, you have the focus, determination and discipline of the event’s guest speaker, Engr. Chuck Castro – FEATI Aero and AFROTC alumnus, Retired Chief Flight Test Engineer, United States Air Force Test Pilot, Philippine Air Force Pilot, Aircraft Design Engineer and the first ever Balik-Scientist in the field of Aeronautics. |
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| Retired General Edgar M. Calvo, FEATI-Clark Joint Program Coordinator and the day’s master of ceremonies, enlightened the throng of students on matters relating to aviation. He even shared that there was once a person who asked him what the most dangerous part of his flight was. “While I was in the car, riding on my way to the airport”, he answered. He added: “Statistics show that |
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flying is 25 times safer than driving or riding a car.” We witnessed other “top guns” at work. First, it was Mr. Alvin Guzman who awed the audience with his Remote-Controlled Edge 540, a light blue plane sporting the Red Bull insignia and the Philippine Flag on its vertical stabilizer. Aerobatics and inverted flight were amply and perfectly exhibited. And who says only fixed wing RC’s could do that? RC helicopters also can, proven when someone flew an RC Helicopter – inverted, with aerobatics, using only two fingers! Mr. Erwin Dematera’s Yellow L4 did the finale and sure enough, the best is always saved for last!
After the RC’s, a Cessna 172 – full sized and being piloted with someone inside, impressed the crowd and landed in front of the hangar. And what would come after that? Pictures, pictures, and pictures, being taken by the excited crowd! But that excitement is yet to find its climax, because soon after, a homebuilt, take note, a homebuilt RV-4, the same one from last year’s Aero Fest, zoomed by at 180 mph! Capt. Bill Wright, who was the pilot (and also the one who built the aircraft) put that usual O on the spectators’ mouths as he piloted the RV-4 through twists, turns, inverted, free-fall and aerobatic maneuvers too numerous to count!
"Busog sila sa lunch, pero mas busog sila sa mga nakita nila!"
But the excitement and anticipation was just too much to be contained inside the hangars, so, after lunch, everyone went out, saw for themselves, and for a number of them (including me!), experienced their first ever helicopter ride – in no other than the Agusta Westland A109, piloted by FEATI Vice Chair, Mr. Fritz Segovia. Well, anyone can buy an airplane ticket, but not everybody is given that chance to have a chopper ride! And indeed, more than the experience, the prestige really, does count! Maybe that was why many of us take Aero – because more than the compensation, more than the journey, the flight experience in itself is already a big reward!
And, while the chopper toured its passengers, people at the Airpark busied themselves with water rockets. In fact, teams of high school students competed in assembling water rockets that would go the highest distance! There was kite-flying too courtesy of the Kite Flyers Association who gave away kites and made a demo on making kites as well.
And so how’s that for a day? Yeah, it was a too-good-to-be true day, but true just the same. And I can’t help but imagine how good it is to be in the field of aviation. Needless to say, I’m fortunate to belong to FEATI!
The day finally had to end and goodbyes had to be said. But for events like this, surely, memories will never fade.
Looking forward to next year’s Aero Fest! (DEPJ) |
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